India starts to build its first transport aircraft manufacturing facility

Gujarat: Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India laid the foundation stone of the C295 aircraft manufacturing facility – the first aircraft manufacturing facility in India’s private sector.

Asian News International quoted the Indian Prime Minister as saying that India is becoming a big manufacturing hub for the world.

“Transport aircraft will give strength to our forces, as well as a new eco-system will develop for the aircraft manufacturing sector. India’s aviation sector is rapidly growing. This a golden opportunity for the world to invest in India. A new saga of economic reforms is being written in India today,” Modi explained.

The facility will be utilised for the manufacturing of 40 C295 aircraft for the Indian Air Force, through collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus Defence and Space, Spain. The facility will be a key step towards achieving Aatmanirbharta in the defence sector, and will also help unlock the potential of the private players in the sector.

The C295 programme, in partnership with the trusted Tata Group, is strongly aligned with the Government of India’s vision of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India), he added. India first aircraft plant inauguration
It is notable that in September 2021, India formalised the acquisition of 56 Airbus C295 aircraft to replace the Indian Air Force (IAF) legacy AVRO fleet. It is the first ‘Make in India’ aerospace programme in the private sector, involving the development of a complete industrial ecosystem-from manufacture to assembly, test and qualification, to delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft. India first aircraft plant inauguration

This will be the first time in the Indian private sector that an aircraft will be manufactured in-country from parts to final assembly. The Programme will lead to the development of a strong private industrial aerospace ecosystem in India and will create more than 15,000 skilled direct and indirect jobs across the aerospace ecosystem, and over 125 suppliers qualified on global quality standards across India.

The IAF became the 35th C295 operator worldwide. Till date, the programme counts 285 orders, with more than 200 aircraft delivered, 38 operators from 34 countries as well as 17 orders repeated. In 2021, the C295 achieved more than half-a-million flight hours.